Unhappy Sunnyvale neighbors form preservation group in response to LinkedIn project

(photo by Alia Wilson/Sunnyvale Sun/August 21, 2013)
The neighborhood that has been most affected by the new LinkedIn Campus, seen in the background, has formed a preservation group and hopes to facilitate discussions with the developer and council about how traffic concerns are going to be addressed.

Standing in her Pine Avenue driveway, 15-year Sunnyvale resident Ann Davis cranes her neck to look at the six-story office building that looks as though it's being built in her back yard.

The future LinkedIn campus has stirred up a lot of grief for members of the SNAIL Neighborhood Association, which is bordered by N. Mathilda, E. Maude, and N. Fair Oaks avenues and Highway 101.

Davis said that for her own neighbors, the construction of the towering structure was their first and only notification. The looming structures are what motivated the residents of Pine Avenue to form Sunnyvale Residents for Preserving and Enhancing Quality Neighborhoods, named after one of the city's land use policies.

About 44 households have joined the group since its creation in July.

The group has the goals of decreasing the structure's height, if possible, and working with the developer and LinkedIn on traffic, noise and light impacts, as well as privacy concerns.

"Those windows look directly into my back yard," Davis said.

The project was approved in June 2012 with two notifications, according to the city. The first notice was for the planning commission and city council hearings in May and June 2012, respectively. The second notice was for the planning commission hearing on Nov. 12, 2012.

Typical noticing includes advertising the public hearings in the Sunnyvale Sun, posting notices on the city's website, and mailing notices to property owners within 300 feet of the project boundaries.

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But Davis said the level of communication on this project was "insulting" and pointed out the neighborhood was not included in the June 19, 2012, report to the city council. Her neighbors across the street who were not notified have picture windows that now have a view of the project.

Expanding the notification area for a project is up to city staff's discretion, according to Sunnyvale communications officer Jennifer Garnett.

"For example, if there had been historical concerns with certain types of projects, we would consider expanding the noticing," Garnett said. "There is no set distance, but rather it is determined based on what makes the most sense for that project."

Per the request of the council, staff will look into reviewing the city's noticing procedures over the next few months and whether they might need amending or updating.

"What some neighbors contend is that even if we had got this [notification] they wouldn't have understood the magnitude," Davis said of the project. "Council member [Jim] Griffith said he didn't even get the magnitude."

At the July 23 city council meeting, Griffith said that having more visuals would have been helpful in reviewing the project, suggesting perhaps tent poles or some variant could be used to illustrate building height.

Councilman Dave Whittum, one hour and 49 minutes into the June 19, 2012, meeting, said he "probably would not see the buildings" from the Pine Avenue neighborhood after landscaping and other mitigations were complete.

"City council didn't even know what they were voting for," added Dwight Davis, Ann's husband.

Both the city council and city staff, however, said the project is a done deal and there is no turning back.

"The LinkedIn project is approved, and the property owner has the legal right to build the project in accordance with the approved plans," Garnett said.